FC Spartak Moscow may skip Florida Cup tournament over US visa issues
by RT
FC Spartak Moscow may skip Florida Cup tournament over US visa issues
Russian Premier League outfit Spartak Moscow may be forced to skip an international football showdown in Orlando as players have been experiencing trouble obtaining US visas for the trip.
The club’s owner Leonid Fedun said that the US embassy hasn’t yet granted visas to the players and staff members despite receiving all the necessary documents, including supporting letters from the event organizers.
“Unfortunately we have troubles with receiving US visas,” Fedun said. “We have received supporting letters from the tournament organizers and Orlando general administration department. But, despite having all the necessary papers from Spartak, the US embassy hasn’t yet granted visas to us. It’s more likely we will refuse participating in the tournament.”
The 2020 Florida Cup which is scheduled to take place in Orlando from January 13 to 20 is supposed to feature Brazilian clubs Corinthians and Palmeiras, along with Colombian side Atlético Nacional and Spartak Moscow.
Earlier this year Russian tennis star Svetlana Kuznetsova was forced to pull out of the WTA tournament in Washington due to problems with her US visa.
The two-time Grand Slam winner said she waited for the visa for several months without any explanation as to why her application had been reviewed for such a lengthy period.
After making her visa problems public Kuznetsova finally had her documents approved by the embassy before traveling to New York to participate in the 2019 US Open.
